


Yellow Tulips

by thelonelywriter



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Castiel & Meg Masters Friendship, Castiel and Dean Winchester Need to Use Their Words, Castiel is a Softie, Chance Meetings, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dean is Bad at Feelings, Declarations Of Love, Florist Castiel, Flowers, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mating Bites, Mechanic Dean, Misunderstandings, Naked Cuddling, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 04:49:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8783797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelonelywriter/pseuds/thelonelywriter
Summary: Dean didn't mean to pass Cas' flower shop, it was a total accident. It happens that total accidents are possibly not accidents. Because there's something that Dean and Cas share, something that could bring them together. If only they could get on the same fucking page.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I wrote this in two days and I wish it had come out better than it did but I really wanted to write something longer. I wish that it had also come out longer but, hey, it happened, it's done with, and hopefully you guys will like it. Also, I only read over it like once so if it has a ton of mistakes that's why. If you're wondering, the title is because yellow tulips are like flower speak for love or deep love and I just had to use that reference because Cas works in a flower shop and, ya know, couldn't hold back. Read away you guys!!

_"We're all a little weird, and life's a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."_

_— Dr. Seuss_

_“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”_

_— Lady Bird Johnson_

\---

It was rare, it was so so rare, and that’s why when they met it seemed like something in the world had shifted purposely for them. It was like one of those rare times when the moon rises red, or blue, or purple, or some color that no one really expects. It was exceptional and it was messy and quite strange in all honestly, but somehow something came together and… and something came together. And in their little corner of their own personal worlds, something changed. Something changed very much.

\---

It was the best peace Castiel Novak ever thought that he would ever be able to find. It took work, and it took money, and it took time, but he managed to get to a place where everything wasn’t so terribly awful. Still, Castiel was never one of immense and intense optimism. He tried, however, and that’s what mattered.

 

A flower shop, small and off the map. A flower shop next to a farm where a very kind man named Benny worked. A little flower shop filled with lots of flowers that Cas grew in his own garden. A little flower shop that Castiel Novak owned.

 

He had owned it for years, finding it when he was in his early twenties. He’s now in his late twenties, bordering on thirty. When he had originally bought the place, it was in shambles. Cas had money, after his parents kicked him out they left him with at least something. He used what he had to renovate as much as he could, though what’s there now is still in need of fixing. But still, it was nice. 

 

Castiel lived on the land, in a small house, perhaps deemed a cottage. There was no one nearby, other than Benny, of course. It sounds like a nice set up, a small flower shop on nice grassy land, somewhere where cars only occasionally pass. It’s not as nice as it seems.

 

Castiel was lonely, as lonely as could be. Cas had tried pets, he had tried friends. No one ever seemed to really stay. There was Benny, there were flowers and plants that Cas could immerse himself in. Watering and cutting and picking and picking up new flower deliveries. And it was wonderful when someone would come into the shop with a smile, picking out a handmade bunch of daisies. But nothing ever stuck or stayed and nothing took away the loneliness.

 

Cas dealt with it, he had hobbies and things of the sort. He had ways of distraction, but there was no denying what was really there. And Cas thought he would live with that forever. He was oh so wrong.

\---

It started on a typical Wednesday, midday about. Usually Cas didn’t have an insane about of business. He had some regulars but he had the most activity on weekends since that was usually when people passed by on the long, winding road in the middle of nowhere, seeing a sign for flowers and deciding to stop. It was Spring too, so people were even more delighted in finding a little, quaint flower shop off a bleak road. But Wednesdays were usually pretty calm. That’s why, when the little bell above the door dinged, Cas looked up from the bunch of flowers he was arranging, curiosity piquing.

 

The person coming through the door looked like he was about Cas’ age. Sandy brown hair, tan skin, just wearing jeans and a t-shirt and a flannel. There was nothing too particular about him that stood out to Cas, he didn’t really look too hard at him. The man, however, looked straight at Cas with bright green eyes that Cas couldn’t help but admire. The man gave some sort of strange, almost nervous smile.

 

“Hi,” he said simply.

 

“Hello,” Cas replied, smiling back at him, watching his gaze immediately turn away from Cas and to the walls and the tables that were covered with flowers and different arrangements of flowers.

 

“I, uh, need some flowers,” he said, and Cas couldn’t help but quirk his lips into a little grin.

 

“You’ve come to the right place then,” Cas joked in reply. The man just huffed a little breath of laughter, continuing to look around. Cas didn’t have a huge amount of flowers, but he also sold a few things from Benny’s farm, honey sticks and vegetables, stuff like that. The flowers weren’t as impressive as some shops Cas had been to before, though, Cas did put a lot of thought into each little bouquet he made, each arrangement. “Are they for any particular purpose? Wedding, anniversary?” Castiel questioned, rising from his chair and leaning on the counter. He knew that sometimes people came in with particular purposes thanks to others who had stopped by and recommended his shop.

 

The man just let out a breath of air, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“Uh, well, not really,” the man replied, but Cas could tell that he was holding something back. “You got any, uh, they’re like kind of stalks with little, you know, flowers coming off of them? They’ve got a weird name? Kind of unusual?” he went on to describe. Cas had to try not to smile. He had had his share of listening to descriptions of flowers and trying to guess what flower the person was talking about.

 

“Snapdragons maybe?” Cas suggested. The man looked a little relieved and nodded.

 

“Yeah, those,” he replied. Cas nodded.

 

“I have some, not too many but enough for a bunch. I have them in white and pink,” Cas said. 

 

“Pink works,” the man told Cas.

 

“Does a handful work?” Castiel inquired. The man just nodded. “Good, I’ll be back,” Castiel told him, slipping out from behind the desk and heading to the back room where he kept some other flowers. It only took him a minute to grab some, cutting off the ends to make sure they were fresh. He came back into the room, heading back behind the desk as he positioned them in what he hoped to be an appealing way. “Do you want them like this?” Castiel questioned, knowing that some people just enjoyed taking a handful of flowers loosely. “I have ribbon and twine,” Castiel suggested, looking back up at the man. He simply shrugged.

 

“Ribbon is fine.”

 

“Color preference?”

 

“Whatever works.”

 

Cas nodded and set the flowers down, then grabbed some scissors and pulled out some thin white ribbon from a roll behind his desk. He made sure to be careful with the flowers, tying a neat bow around the middle of the stalks. He held them out and the man stepped forwards.

 

“Great, good,” he told Cas, nodding. “They look good.”

 

Cas smiled softly.

 

“Thanks,” he responded. The man smiled at him for a moment before taking out his wallet, giving Cas some money before taking the flowers in hand. Cas had enough time when the man was looking down to notice that he had a nice smattering of freckles across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

 

“Thank you,” the man called as he headed for the door, shooting Cas a shy sort of smile. Cas smiled back and waved, sitting back in his chair.

 

“Have a nice day,” Cas called back, listening to the door close and the bell give a feeble ring. A car door shut outside before an engine came to life and soon enough Cas knew that he was, once again, alone for most likely the rest of the day. He couldn’t help but sit back and wonder what exactly those flowers had been for. He was guessing some sort of romantic encounter, judging by the fact that the guy had known somewhat what kind of flowers he wanted. Or whoever he was giving them to wanted. The guy also seemed fairly nervous so it made sense. Cas sighed and slouched in his seat. It made sense, the guy was pretty attractive, Cas had to give it to him. Cas furrowed his eyebrows when he realized he never even got the guy’s name. It seemed a pity.

\---

Cas figured that the guy he had seen was going to be a one time customer. Cas had a lot of one time customers to be fair. A good amount of people weren’t even customers, they just stopped for directions since they were lost. Cas didn’t mind too much though, he usually gave out a honey stick for the road to whoever got lost.

 

He had been wrong though, about the man. He had been totally and utterly wrong. Because the next Wednesday, a Wednesday that Cas thought would be silent like the others, the door opened, the bell rang, and the same man came in. 

 

“Hello,” Cas said almost cautiously when the man said nothing. He seemed almost more antsy than last time. He looked up at Cas and smiled.

 

“Hi. Again,” he replied. Cas kind of wanted to say something, ask if the flowers died too soon, if he just wasn’t happy with them, whatever, but before he could open his mouth the guy was speaking again. “I need more flowers. Like, better ones,” he explained. Cas raised an eyebrow.

 

“Were the last ones bad?”

 

“No, no, they were fine they just, uh, didn’t quite… work,” he sighed. Cas’ eyebrow just rose higher.

 

“Uh... “ Cas began because there were a lot of different variables to explain what the man had just said.

 

“Do you have roses?” he blurted out.

 

“Yeah,” Cas replied a little slowly.

 

“Like, red roses? Big, pretty ones?”

 

“I mean, yeah,” Cas told the guy who nodded.

 

“Okay. Do you have like, half a dozen?”

 

Cas seemed a little taken aback but tried not to show it as he nodded.

 

“Can I get them by tonight? Maybe? It’s kind of an emergency,” he told Cas.

 

“I mean I can get them for you now. It might take a bit, you’d have to wait, but I can get them to you before tonight, yeah,” Castiel reasoned. 

 

“Yeah, that works. I can just wait here, I mean, if you don’t mind?”

 

“No, I don’t mind,” Castiel said, shaking his head. 

 

“Good, good,” the man sighed, turning and looking at some of the flowers on the wall. Cas eyed him before turning, heading into the back room and looking at the roses. He made sure to pick out the best roses and he cut them fresh. It didn’t take him too too long, thankfully, and soon enough he was back at his desk.

 

“Ribbon? Paper and a bag? Both?” Cas questioned when he had gotten the roses together. 

 

“Oh, yeah, both works if it isn’t too much trouble,” the man said, turning back to Cas.

 

“No trouble at all,” Cas told him, cutting off a piece of ribbon and tying everything together. Carefully wrapping them up in some soft paper and then a plastic cover, Cas eventually handed them over to the man who immediately paid for them.

 

“Hey, uh, thank you for these,” he said, slowly backing up, heading to the door. Cas smiled softly.

 

“It’s no problem. I hope things go better this time,” Castiel told him. 

 

“Yeah, me too,” the man huffed, turning to the door the closed with finality, the bell chiming in. After Cas knew that the man had left, Cas frowned a little. He had still forgotten to ask the man’s name. He generally liked to know his customers, and this guy seemed to be a recurring one. Then again, Cas had a feeling that maybe if those flowers “worked” he wouldn’t be back. Or maybe he would, just every now and then to get a handful of daisies or some honey sticks for whoever the flowers would then belong to. Maybe he was bringing the flowers back home for a mate, or someone who was about to take the place of a mate. Cas had no idea, but he did hope that maybe the man would come back.

\---

Cas’ hopes were thankfully not too high, and once again, the next Wednesday, the man was back, pretty much at the same time, looking defeated instead of antsy. Cas had a feeling that the flowers hadn’t quite worked.

 

“Hi,” the man said almost immediately.

 

“Hello,” Castiel responded. A silence fell between them, a little strange and almost tense, though it didn’t last for too long. 

 

“Do you have vases?”

 

Cas blinked.

 

“A few, yes,” Castiel replied, a little curious since not too many people came in and asked for a vase.

 

“Because I need one,” the man filled in. Cas just said nothing and the guy went on to explain, “I don’t have one at home.”

 

“I see,” Cas said quietly.

 

“And I need flowers to put in that vase,” the man sighed, looking around. Cas smiled a little.

 

“Well, I’m glad that you’re not just using me for vases,” Cas joked. The man glanced over at Cas and grinned a little.

 

“I’m Dean,” the guy said after a pause, and some part of Cas relaxed now that he knew his name. Dean. It was a nice name.

 

“I’m Castiel,” Cas told Dean.

 

“Huh, interesting name,” Dean told Castiel who looked down, smiling a bit.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I like it though,” Dean told Cas who just smiled softly over at him.

 

“Thank you,” he replied. He got his fair share of ‘That’s an interesting name’ but it was always nice to get a follow up. There was another pause. “So, what kind of flowers were you hoping for today?” Castiel inquired. Dean just shrugged and sighed.

 

“I don’t know, man, just something nice. Nothing too important. They’re just going on my kitchen counter.”

 

Cas nodded.

 

“Something fragrant though, maybe?” Dean suggested a second later. Cas nodded, glancing around and remembering what he had in his back room.

 

“I have lilacs, those have a nice smell. They’re pretty visually appealing too. I could throw in some lily of the valley too if you want a more shallow vase. Lily of the valley are also pretty fragrant, I think they would pair nicely with the lilacs,” Castiel explained. Dean hadn’t a clue about flowers but he just nodded. It was obvious that Cas knew what he was doing though, so Dean had a certain amount of blind trust for him.

 

“That sounds great,” Dean told Castiel.

 

“Good. It may take me a bit for the lily of the valley, I’ll have to go out back to cut some. I usually let them stay in the ground unless someone asks for them as an accent. They don’t tend to last too long if they aren’t in soil, sadly enough,” Castiel went on.

 

“Oh, you don’t have to, really,” Dean said, shaking his head.

 

“No, it’s no trouble. Plus I’ve never really paired them with lilacs so I’m a bit interested to see how it goes,” Castiel explained, quirking a little grin.

 

“Alright, well, if you insist,” Dean said. Castiel smiled and nodded, slipping out to the back room and grabbing some scissors. He headed out the back door and towards a little patch of area where a few kinds of flowers grew. He had that small garden behind the shop and then one up by his house that was a lot bigger. But in this one, he knelt down and picked a few lily of the valleys, taking them all in hand before heading back into the shop. He set them down on a table and took a few lilacs, enough for a certain vase he had in mind. He paused, taking the vase out of a cupboard and heading back to where Dean was.

 

“Is this vase okay?” Castiel questioned Dean who turned from where he was admiring a hydrangea.

 

“Oh, yeah, that works,” Dean told Cas.

 

“Is it okay if I put them in here now? In water?”

 

“Yeah, totally,” Dean replied, and Castiel nodded, heading back to the back room where he got some water in the vase and put the flowers in, first sorting out the lilacs then sorting out the lily of the valleys until everything looked cohesive and, in Cas’ opinion, pretty nice.

 

“How does that look?” Castiel questioned as he brought out the vase with the flowers, setting it down on the counter.

 

“Great, it looks amazing,” Dean said, stepping forwards and looking them over. Cas smiled a bit. “Hey, how long have you been doing this? Like, been in this place? I never knew you were here until recently. I took the wrong route out from work one day and came down this road, that’s how I found you,” Dean explained. 

 

“I’ve been here for some years now,” Castiel began, looking over the flowers and glancing up at Dean. “Not many people know about this place. It’s easy to pass over. A lot of people don’t even come in for flowers, they just need directions,” Castiel explained. Dean looked a little interested.

 

“So why do you stay here? You have really nice flowers, you could get a lot more business somewhere else,” Dean pointed out. Cas shrugged.

 

“I live here too, my house is back there. You can’t see it from the road, but, you know, everything is kind of comfortable now. And I have some regular customers that are very kind. I also have a deal with my neighbor who’s a farmer. He lets me sell vegetables and honey sticks and some fruits and things. It’s nice,” Castiel informed Dean who nodded.

 

“It sounds nice,” Dean replied, pulling out his wallet. Castiel smiled and nodded a little, even though he thought a little about how lonely things got.

 

“It is,” Castiel said softly, glancing up at Dean who happened to glance up at the same time. They caught eye contact for a moment, and now it was Dean’s turn to look at Cas’ eyes. They were blue. A bright blue. Dean wasn’t sure he had seen eyes so… lovely. He didn’t stare for long though, just looked back down and paid for the flowers, taking them carefully in hand.

 

“Hey, uh, thank you for these. They really do look nice,” Dean commented, heading for the door. Cas smiled a little.

 

“It’s no problem. It’s nice to see you again,” Cas added, some part of him hoping that maybe Dean would be a new regular customer.

 

“Yeah, you too.”

 

And then there was the bell, ringing once or twice with the door closing in succession. Cas sighed and sat back, wondering once more about Dean. It was interesting, when Cas thought about it, how first he came in for a bunch of snapdragons. It seemed then like he knew what he wanted. Then roses, something that Cas would have thought of as a gift, but the way Dean had acted, almost antsy, Cas wondered if maybe they were an apology. And now something simply for a kitchen counter or table. Maybe the roses had worked as an apology. Maybe they weren’t even an apology. Cas could never be sure, not unless someone told him. But sometimes it was fun to guess what the occasion was. Sometimes it was fun to wonder what someone else’s life was like. Cas so rarely got insight to other people’s lives, what with having not many friends, with living on the countryside. It didn’t tend to bother him too much, but sometimes on slow days, days when no one came into the store, Cas had to wonder if the life he was living was the best it could be. Then again, with his circumstances, it seemed the only way of living.

\---

‘Buy some flowers, it’ll make you feel better. Just put them out on your table.’

 

Charlie’s words echoed in Dean’s head as he set the flowers down on his kitchen table with a sigh. Charlie was a great friend with great advice, but Dean wasn’t so sure that this bit of advice was going to work.

 

He stood back and looked at them, then lean forwards and shifted the vase, looking at them from different angles. He let out an interested hum when he saw that they really did look nice from all angles. Usually florists that he went to in the past always left a gap at some angle and he always had to fix it. These flowers were nice though. Very fresh and very… nice. Just overall. They smelt nice, they looked nice, Dean could tell that they were fresh. He had to admit that he was glad that he had found that flower shop. He didn’t even mean to find it.

 

His girlfriend, well, now ex-girlfriend Lisa, had gotten in a fight with him. Dean was heading towards her house when he took a wrong turn and ended up driving angrily down some random farm road in the middle of God knows where. He figured that it was all over, he was gonna be late to her house and she was going end it all right there and then on the spot. But then, like a light raining down he saw a sign for flowers. And, girls like flowers, right? Flowers fix stuff right? And he knew that Lisa liked some strange, off the map flower, something with a weird name, and it just so happened that this guy, Castiel, had them. And the flowers had kind of worked. And Lisa had kind of forgiven Dean. But then another fight occurred and Dean ended up trying to one up himself and bought the roses that Lisa had refused. The roses ended up lying on Dean’s table and Lisa and Dean ended up parting ways. Dean felt bad, but the roses ended up in the trash. He just couldn’t manage looking at them everyday.

 

Charlie had ended up getting an earful of what happened since not only was she just about Dean’s only friend, she also made sure to listen to Dean as thoughtfully as she could. 

 

Charlie had had breakups before and recommended many a things to Dean, things that he could do other than sulk, and one of those things had been flowers. Dean wasn’t really sure of it at first, what with flowers being the seeming demise of Dean’s relationship with Lisa. But then he remembered the guy at the flower shop. And he remembered how nice and quaint it was. And he decided that maybe it couldn’t hurt if he went back there and got the guy’s name and maybe some nice flowers to look at.

 

Dean sat back in a chair and just admired them for a minute. He wondered if he would go back there, to the flower shop. The guy seemed genuinely nice and the flowers were always nice. It couldn’t really hurt, could it? And he mentioned selling other stuff, like vegetables, right? And Sam was always on his ass about eating healthy. And hey, maybe this guy needed the business. He was in the middle of nowhere after all. And it didn’t hurt that, alright, maybe Dean thought he was cute. Just a little.

\---

Dean didn’t want to seem desperate, so he didn’t go back until the next Wednesday, a week from when he had bought the lilacs that were starting to wilt just a bit. When Dean came in the door, he saw Cas sitting behind his desk, a book in his hands. It only took a second before Cas was looking up and smiling softly.

 

“Hello, Dean,” Cas said, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to use his name. Dean quirked a grin right back at him.

 

“Hey, Cas,” Dean replied, not even noticing the nickname slip out. Cas, however, did and he fought the urge to smile a little more. Some really close regulars called him that and so did Benny, but usually it took a while and Cas had to prompt them, saying how his full name could be a mouthful in all reality.

 

Cas bookmarked his page and set his book down. Sometimes on slow days reading was nice when he had nothing much to do. But, he had been watching the time, and he was well aware of the day. He was wondering if Dean would make an appearance again.

 

“The lilacs are wilting?” Cas said, almost in question, knowing that lilacs never did last too long. Dean gave him a little puzzled look.

 

“How’d you know?” Dean realized after the question was out of his mouth that, duh, Cas had been doing this for years and he probably knew the lifespan of flowers.

 

“When you’ve been working here for years you start to get to know flowers,” Cas explained. “Lilacs are wonderful, but even when they’re peaking, when they’re in the best condition, a week is usually their natural lifespan,” he went on, sighing. “I’d love to offer you more but a woman came in here on Monday and took the last bunch I have,” Castiel told Dean, leaning against the counter. “I just got some really nice daffodils though,” Cas proposed. Dean shook his head.

 

“No, it’s fine I was just wondering, you said you sell farm stuff, right? Like vegetables?” Dean inquired. Cas nodded.

 

“I have some, not a lot. Mostly root vegetables and honey sticks,” Castiel told Dean. “Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, all those aren’t quite ripe yet,” he went on. 

 

“Do you have any like, greens?” Dean questioned, vaguely aware that he might be sounding a little idiotic. Cas could only smile.

 

“Lettuce and kale is all I have right now.”

 

Dean couldn’t help but make a face at the word ‘kale’ since the last time he had had it it was because Sam forced him to eat it and Dean didn’t really have a choice. Cas caught the face and laughed a little.

 

“Yeah, most people don’t go for the kale. I’m not a fan myself but, you know, every once and awhile a health nut comes by and wants fresh, organic vegetables. They can be expensive and everything so that’s why people like coming to small farms,” Cas spoke. Dean huffed a breath of laughter.

 

“Sounds like my brother,” he muttered, shaking his head.

 

“He should go see Benny sometimes,” Cas said, and Dean tilted his head. “Benny’s my neighbor, the farmer I told you about,” Cas stated. 

 

“Right, right,” Dean replied, nodding, remembering Cas mentioning a deal with his neighbor.

 

“He has a lot more stuff than I do. He’s really nice though, letting me sell some of his stuff. I offered to let him sell some of my flowers in return but he just told me he wouldn’t be able to keep them alive for more than a few days,” Cas told Dean with a fond little smile. Dean smiled back.

 

“I think I’d be in the same boat,” he replied.

 

“Yeah, you either have a green thumb or you don’t. I’m glad that I have one though, God knows what I’d be doing if I wasn’t involved with flowers,” Cas huffed. Dean shrugged.

 

“I’m sure you’re good at something. But I know what you mean,” Dean agreed. Cas leaned forwards on the counter a little more.

 

“What do you do?” he questioned, hoping he wasn’t overstepping or anything. But Dean just shrugged a little.

 

“I’m a mechanic. Like you said, I don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t working on cars and stuff,” Dean sighed.

 

“Do you have any like, hobbies?” Cas questioned, not even thinking about it. 

 

“I read when I have time,” Dean said, pointing to the book on Cas’ desk. Cas grinned.

 

“What kind of books?” Cas inquired.

 

“Anything really. Science fiction is always nice though,” Dean said, glancing over and sitting back on a stool that was in the middle of the shop. “What about you?” Dean asked, nodding towards Cas’ book.

 

“I like poetry. And mysteries too, I have a horrible addiction to mysteries,” Cas informed Dean who smiled and nodded.

 

“Do you ever write?”

 

“Sometimes I try but it never comes out quite right,” Cas said almost sheepishly. Dean shook his head.

 

“I’m sure it comes out fine. You seem good with words,” Dean told Cas who tried not to blush as he looked down.

 

“Thanks,” he replied. A silence fell between them, slightly awkward, slightly tense, and very quiet. Cas finally looked up. “So, I’ll set you up with a few bunches of kale?”

\---

Dean ended up going home with a handful of fresh carrots, potatoes, yams, and then some free honey sticks that Cas had insisted on sending Dean home with. Dean decided to skip the flowers for this week, but told Cas that he would be back again next Wednesday. And maybe it was stupid, but Dean was already a little excited to go back. He was glad he got to talk to Cas because it turned out that Cas was pretty cool. And he was nice. And he was funny. And Dean couldn’t help but wonder a little more about him.

 

Dean had to admit that there was something about him that made Dean think that maybe he was lonely. It didn’t sound like he lived with anyone, and it didn’t sound like he had a mate. And that made Dean wonder if he was a beta, or an omega, even an alpha. He didn’t seem like an alpha, but Dean knew that there were some people out there who were soft and quiet but were still alphas. Dean never was one for stereotyping.

 

Lisa had been an alpha, and Dean got a little sad thinking about it. With the way he was, his circumstances, Lisa had been one of the only people willing to accept his situation. Sure, Dean had had relationships with other guys or girls, but they never seemed to last long. People seemed to usually want things clear and clean cut, and Dean totally understood that. It just got difficult sometimes, feeling left out. Left out and a little lonely. A lot lonely.

 

“Don’t sulk, don’t sulk,” Dean mumbled to himself as he set everything down on his kitchen counter when he got home. He pulled back and glanced between what he had bought and the wilting flowers that still, somehow, didn’t look terribly bad. He let out a sigh and sat down at his table. And a wave of dramatic thinking washed over him where he wondered how lonely he could get, how much he would miss Lisa, if he would just end of going to desolate farm stands and flower shops for the rest of his life with no one to bring the flowers to. But then he thought of Cas and something flickered inside of him.

 

He had no idea how lonely Cas was, he had no idea if Cas was mated. He would probably be able to smell it if he was, but then again he worked in a flower shop and it was generally hard to smell anything but flowers. But maybe Cas was as lonely as he was. 

 

Dean shook his head and scoffed at the thought. Even if Cas was lonely as could be, he would probably never go for someone like Dean. Like previously said, relationships never lasted long for Dean. And the longest one he had had had just gone up in smoke. So, what was Dean supposed to do?

\---

Wednesday came by a little too slow for Dean who was happy as ever to walk into Cas’ shop.

 

“Hey, Cas,” Dean greeted immediately.

 

“Hello, Dean,” Cas replied, turning with a smile from where he had been rearranging a bouquet on the wall. “Come for more kale?” he joked.

 

“No, surprisingly enough I need some flowers,” Dean said, grinning. 

 

“Well, that’s good because I have a lot of them,” Cas told Dean who just grinned more. “Any particular kind in mind?” Castiel asked, heading over to the counter.

 

“Not really, just something, you know, pretty,” Dean said, looking around.

 

“Big, small? Do you need another vase?” Cas questioned. Dean smiled and shook his head. 

 

“No, I’m set for vases. But, something medium size would work. Nothing extravagant,” Dean added on. Cas nodded.

 

“Well, I did just get in some really pretty lisianthuses, but if you’re looking for something more simple and plain, I have some really sweet daffodils that I got from my back garden. I was gonna let them grow, you know, just for something nice to look at, but there were so many of them I thought that picking a few wouldn’t hurt,” Cas explained. “They grow like crazy around here, and they’re just peaking so I won’t have them for too long. Summer is coming up so fast and the flowers that bloom in early Spring are heading out, sadly,” he sighed.

 

“Well, I think I might just have to take a few then,” Dean said, smiling. Cas smiled back.

 

“I have them in a few different colors, some of them with darker petals, some with lighter, then the trumpets in the middle range from pale yellow to an orange color. My favorites are the white petals with pale yellow middles, but it’s really up to you,” Cas went on, looking over at Dean. Dean simply looked at him for a second, pausing. His eyes were still a wonderful blue color. But now they had a little sparkle in them. It made Dean want to smile even more.

 

“No, I think those sound really nice,” Dean agreed.

 

“You’re sure?” Cas questioned, and Dean nodded. “Alright, I’ll be back,” Cas told Dean, heading off into the back room and grabbing some scissors. He headed over to where the daffodils were and picked up a few of his favorites. He didn’t mind giving them away though, not when he had a feeling Dean would appreciate them. 

 

It only took him a minute to cut off the ends and then bring them back to the counter.

 

“Ribbon, twine?” Cas questioned.

 

“Whatever you think will look nice,” Dean said, and Cas smiled a little, pulling out a length of twine, wrapping it around the stalks of the flowers and tying it in a neat bow.

 

“Look good?” Cas questioned, holding them out to Dean who smiled.

 

“Looks great,” he told Cas who smiled back. Dean went to pay and Cas tried not to wonder if the flowers were for someone. Dean hadn’t asked for a vase, maybe he was just giving them to someone for them to put in a vase. 

 

Dean thanked Cas again when he left, shot him a smile and told Cas he would be back. Once he was gone, Cas went back to wondering about the flowers. They must be for someone, right? He had come in, bought snapdragons, obviously for someone. Cas could usually tell when someone was buying flowers for a mate or a boyfriend or girlfriend or significant other. Then the roses, obviously not some arrangement for his table. But then the lilacs and lily of the valley. Those went on his counter, right? The vegetables seemed to be some sort of way of keeping in touch. They had shared some nice conversation that day. Now daffodils. Dean hadn’t seemed in a rush or a hurry. He seemed pretty calm, glad to see Cas again. Or at least Cas thought so. Maybe he was wrong? Then again, Cas knew that some people came in just to get little bouquets for no particular reason. So maybe that’s what Dean was doing?

\---

Dean came back the next week. And the week after that. And after that. And soon enough they were easing into summer with no problem. Dean always came in for flowers, sometimes for vegetables then fruits when Cas finally got in a few boxes of raspberries or blueberries. And it was interesting because he nearly never just came in and left, he always made attempts at conversation. And soon enough they were on a friendly basis and they talked about all sorts of things. Sometimes Dean stayed for nearly half the day, just sitting around, watching Cas arrange flowers. Dean told Cas about how he was so good with flowers, and Cas told Dean about how kind he was. The thing is, Cas never asked who the flowers were for. He never asked who ate the vegetables and the fruits. He never asked if Dean was mated. He never asked if Dean was taken. And he lead himself to the conclusion that those flowers were for someone. It was obvious that Dean was one of those people that attracted other people. Girls, guys, whoever. Dean was attractive and smart and funny and kind and anyone who said differently obviously wasn’t seeing right.

 

Dean, on the other hand, was convinced by then that Cas wasn’t as lonely as previously thought because it was just obvious that he was with Benny. Cas talked about Benny every now and then, told Dean how he needed to go check out his farm stand. Dean refused.

 

At first, it wasn’t obvious, but then, over time, Dean realized that it was the only viable option. Cas and Benny were obviously together. They had a deal, Benny let Cas sell some of his produce, they were neighbors, they talked, they were obviously something for God’s sake. Dean hated it. He was bitter about it, but he knew he couldn’t say anything and he never even dared to ask about it. Cas was a friend by now, Dean had started stopping by even more often that once a week. Wednesday and Monday, every Wednesday and Monday. And he didn’t want to ruin what were now his favorite days of the week by getting in Cas’ business. So he didn’t. What he did do, was try to get over the fact that he had a gigantic crush on Cas, and go out on some dates here and there. He never brought them flowers though, never ever. Dean reserved those flowers for himself. His house was covered with vases of flowers by now.

 

It started out slow and calm and tasteful. A few dates here and there, a few one night stands. Dean knew by now that there really weren’t many people who were accepting of him. His own family wasn’t even fond of him, save Sam, bless his soul. 

 

Anyways, the dates started out fair. And Dean made sure he was being sensible. But then things slowly got… messy.

 

It was, as Sam called it when he found out, “serial dating,” and it made Dean feel neither worse nor better which is why he was doing it. He couldn’t have Cas so what was the point? And at that point, Dean didn’t really care who found out about what was “wrong” with him. Nothing would last. Den honestly had no idea what the point of it was, but once it started he figured why stop?

 

Cas, on the other hand, was being a classic hopeless romantic, writing poetry and reading and picking flowers and frowning a lot of the time. Seeing Dean was melancholy, talking to him was bittersweet, and Cas didn’t really know how to fix what wasn’t exactly even broken. Somehow, however, one day, the answer seemingly fell from the sky.

\---

It was a regular Tuesday, and Cas had seen Dean the previous day. They had talked and Cas had sent Dean off with a new batch of chrysanthemums tied together sweetly with a yellow ribbon. Cas figured that since it was Tuesday he might get some more customers, but the day was surprisingly calm until one of Cas’ regulars, Meg, an alpha who came in every now and then and was somewhat of a friend to Cas, came in.

 

“Hello, Meg,” Cas sighed, watching Meg close the door behind her. She smiled sneakily over at him.

 

“Hey there Cas. Lookin’ a little worse for wear,” she stated, stepping towards Cas but taking a look around. Cas huffed a breath of laughter.

 

“Yeah, well,” Cas just sighed, not really sure what to reply.

 

“How have you been?” Meg questioned, peering over at an arrangement that had ivy growing through it.

 

“I’ve been better,” Cas told her. “And you?” he went on, leaning against the counter.

 

“Yeah, me too,” she said. Cas quirked a little smile.

 

“How’s Alfie?” Cas questioned, knowing that her boyfriends usually never lasted for long. Sure enough, she scoffed. 

 

“Please, we broke up long ago,” she told Cas.

 

“So who’s your latest prey?” Cas joked, earning a glare from Meg.

 

“Well, I did go on an interesting date the other day,” she mused, walking over to the counter.

 

“Oh?” Cas prompted. Meg smirked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Alpha?”

 

“No.”

 

“Omega?”

 

“No.”

 

Cas frowned. He knew usually Meg never went for betas.

 

“A beta?” Cas questioned incredulously. Meg grinned.

 

“He was a mix.”

 

Cas’ heart dropped. Meg still didn’t know about Cas, Cas had refused to tell her. But, hearing that she had gone out with someone who was mixed, that piqued Cas’ interest. 

 

“Of what?”

 

“Alpha and omega,” Meg said, staring down Cas. Cas had a feeling Meg knew, she was smart, but Cas had never told her outright. “He said he was born that way. Presented later on. He told me that he wanted to let me know since no one ever lasted long with him. Said he was usually a one night thing,” Meg explained. Cas swallowed thickly. He didn’t think he had ever even met anyone like him. He had heard about people like that, he knew that they existed, but to hear that Meg went on a date with someone like that, like him was just… weird.

 

“So are you with him now?” Cas questioned. Meg shook her head.

 

“Not that I have anything against mixes,” she began, glancing over at Cas. “But no. He wasn’t my type. Seemed like the kinda guy who suppresses so much shit that you have to deal with eventually. Plus he seemed really distracted. Dunno why,” Meg hummed, shrugging. Cas licked his lips.

 

“What was his name?”

 

Meg raised an eyebrow.

 

“Is this for future reference?”

 

“Meg.”

 

“Is it?”

 

“I’ll give you a free arrangement if you just tell me his name,” Cas said. Meg grinned. 

 

“That one?” she questioned, nodding over to a pretty, dark red themed, smaller arrangement that Cas remembered spending a fair amount of time on. He closed his eyes and sighed.

 

“Yeah, fine, sure.”

 

“His name was Dean.”

 

Cas’ brain short circuited. Everything just shut down for a second. His eyes snapped open as he looked up at Meg.

 

“What did he look like?” Cas questioned. Meg shrugged, heading over to the dark red arrangement.

 

“Like, light brownish hair, green eyes, freckles. Pretty hot, I’d say, but like I said, not my type,” Med said carelessly.

 

“And you’re sure he was a mix? Alpha and omega?” Cas inquired.

 

“That’s what he said,” Meg replied, glancing back over at Cas. Cas just blinked. It couldn’t be possible. It could not be possible that the one person Cas wanted the most was caught up in the same problem Cas had. “Are you okay?” Meg inquired after a silence. Cas shook his head and nodded.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

 

Meg paused, then raised an eyebrow.

 

“Do you know this guy?” she questioned. Cas wasn’t exactly sure how to answer, opening and then closing his mouth. Meg grinned. “Oh my God, you know this guy. You’ve met him before,” she stated.

 

“Meg, it’s not-”

 

“You like him too,” she went on, always quick to pick things up. The blush on Cas’ cheeks told all. “Shit, Cas, I can like, call him up,” she suggested. Cas’ eyes went wide.

 

“No! No, don’t call him, please,” Cas said, his heart racing, his mind fumbling for what would be a good answer to this current problem. “He’s not even, he’s probably straight, Meg,” Cas went on but Meg snorted.

 

“Judging by the way he was eyeing our waiter, I would say no,” she replied. Cas’ mouth went dry. “How do you know him?” Meg questioned. Cas ran a hand through his hair.

 

“He’s a customer, he comes here all the time,” Cas explained, rubbing his temples. “He’s just, he’s not interested. He’s always buying flowers and he’s probably buying them for girls. You said he’s a one night thing, right?” Cas said, looking slightly panicked. 

 

“He never gave me flowers,” Meg said. Cas furrowed his brow.

 

“What day did you go out with him?”

 

“Last Wednesday,” Meg said. Cas just blinked. Dean had come in and bought a bunch of daisies that day. But he never gave them to Meg? “Cas just, if you like him ask him out.”

 

“You said he was a one night thing!” Cas pointed out. Meg threw her hands up.

 

“Cas, I don’t know, maybe he likes you,” she said.

 

“Then why would he go out with you?” Cas questioned. Meg stepped forwards, placing her hands on the counter.

 

“Cas,” she said, coaxing Cas’ gaze up to her eyes. “Just calm the fuck down. I don’t know why he went out with me, but he didn’t seem too entranced with me. If you like him and if he’s a regular customer, just ask him out,” Meg said calmly. Cas went to open his mouth, but Meg shook her head. “Just ask him out. End of story.”

 

Cas stared at her for a minute and sighed.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“Yeah, okay,” Cas sighed. Meg smiled and patted Cas’ cheek before straightening up.

 

“Good. Now, I have places to be. Thank you for the free flowers, I’ll make sure to recommend you to a friend,” she said, picking up the flowers and heading towards the door.

 

“Bye, Meg,” Cas sighed.

 

“Bye, Cas,” Meg called back.

 

Once she had left Cas rubbed a hand across his face. There were so many variables now, like why the fuck was Dean buying so many flowers and where were they going? And was he just going out with random people on random nights? If so, why? Cas felt like he was in the middle of some complicated word problem. And he had no fucking clue what the answer was supposed to be.

\---

The next day was a Wednesday, so, like clockwork, Dean came in, smiling softly like always. Cas couldn’t decide if he was mad or upset or just plain confused. Probably a little bit of each.

 

“Heya, Cas,” he greeted.

 

“Hello, Dean,” Cas greeted back, trying to sound calm and not at all like he was freaking out.

 

“Got some new flowers in,” Dean recognized as he headed towards the counter, taking in the sight of some begonias hanging from pots here and there. Cas smiled weakly, nodding.

 

“Yup. Got them the other day,” Cas told Dean. 

 

“They look nice,” Dean complemented and Cas looked down.

 

“Thank you. I’ve been trying to keep them healthy. Hopefully they’ll last,” Cas sighed.

 

“Well, knowing you they’ll last for months,” Dean said, smiling over at Cas who found it hard to look Dean right in the eye.

 

“Well, I can hope,” Cas laughed weekly, looking up at them. Dean furrowed his eyebrows at Cas for just a moment, not long enough for Cas to notice. Cas seemed a little off. Dean hadn’t been talking to him for long yet, but he had been talking to him for months and he knew when he was in a bad mood which was not too often actually. 

 

“Slow week so far?” Dean questioned, wondering if maybe that’s why Cas was in the mood he seemed to be in. 

 

“Kind of,” Cas shrugged, sitting back in his chair. “Summer is generally a better season overall though, a lot of people take this road for scenic reasons or some other reason and they find flowers here,” he explained. He paused. “And I saw a friend yesterday too,” Cas went on, deciding to take that route, yet still treading cautiously. 

 

“Oh, well that’s nice,” Dean said, sitting down on a stool near Cas’ counter. Cas nodded.

 

“And she, uh, said she knew you,” Cas went on, hoping that this was the right way to go about things. Probably not, but then again, Cas wasn’t one to socialize all the time.

 

“What was her name?” Dean questioned, curious.

 

“Meg,” Cas said simply. Dean paled. Oh. Meg. Right. The date that had gone terrible.

 

“Oh, right,” Dean said, trailing off, glancing up at Cas. Dean swallowed after a pause. “What did she say about me?” Dean questioned.

 

“She said she liked you,” Cas told Dean, glancing up at him. Dean raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t quite gotten that vibe from her.

 

“Really?” Dean inquired, trying to not sound surprised and failing. Cas tried to quirk a little grin.

 

“I mean, yeah. Yeah,” Cas sighed.

 

“Did she say anything else?” Dean questioned cautiously. Cas took a deep breath and shrugged.

 

“She said, well, told me… that you’re a mix,” Cas said, wondering if that was stepping over a line or not. Dean felt his stomach drop and his blood run cold. He shouldn’t have just gone around telling people that. He shouldn’t have told Meg that, not when people like Cas could find out. People like Cas who probably didn’t want anything to do with him now.

 

“Oh,” Dean said simply and softly. Cas nodded and the room went silent.

 

“I am too,” Cas spoke up after a bit. Dean blinked, then looked up.

 

“What?”

 

“I’m a mix too. Alpha and omega. Presented late. Family kicked me out because of it, moved out here and,” Cas took a deep breath. “Sorry, oversharing,” he laughed nervously. “I just wanted you to know that, you know, you’re not the only one,” Cas trailed off. After a bit of silence he looked up at Dean who was gaping at him.

 

“Holy shit, you aren’t kidding,” Dean mused. Cas shook his head. “You, oh my God, wow,” Dean breathed out, running a hand through his hair.

 

“No one ever really stays when you’re a mix,” Cas added in, and Dean looked over at him, obviously confused.

 

“Benny, though,” Dean said, and it was Cas and Dean who looked both confused at this point. 

 

“What?” Cas questioned.

 

“You, I mean, Benny stayed,” Dean said softly. Cas blinked.

 

“Because he owns land next to me,” Cas just said stupidly, missing the point. Dean blinked. “We’re neighbors, he’s not the kind of guy who would move away just because I moved in. I told you that,” Cas pointed out. But then it dawned on him and his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. “Oh God, oh don’t tell me you thought Benny and I were a couple,” Cas breathed out. Dean shook his head.

 

“No, no, I, it’s just, you talk about him so much and you guys are so close and I just thought,” Dean trailed off, blushing by now.

 

“Oh my God, Dean, I talk about him so much because we’re friends and neighbors and we both like, you know, plants and flowers and we just, I don’t, I would never,” Cas fumbled to get the right words out. Dean blushed even more. “I wouldn’t even,” Cas began and Dean’s eyes widened a little more with a little more misunderstanding.

 

“Oh, you don’t swing that way, oh, oh wow, sorry I, um, thought-”

 

“What?” Cas blurted out. By now everyone was confused and both of them were blushing terribly. 

 

“I just, I’m sorry, I thought that you and Benny were a couple so I never said anything,” Dean explained. Cas blinked, shaking his head.

 

“What do you mean, ‘said anything’?” Castiel inquired. Dean swallowed thickly and shook his head.

 

“I just, I mean, I thought you were taken so I never…”

 

Cas raised his eyebrow higher. Dean let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“I never made a move,” Dean said and Cas’ heart skipped a beat. But then confusion washed over him again.

 

“Why do you buy so many flowers then? You bring them to girls right?” 

 

Dean couldn’t help but breathe out a laugh at that one.

 

“I don’t bring them anywhere, Cas, they’re all over my fucking house right now. I’ve been going on dates, a ton of them recently but like you said when you’re a mix no one ever stays so it’s like stupid one night stands and shit. I thought you were taken and I thought, you know, even if you weren’t taken you wouldn’t want to date a mix. So I just went on a bunch of dates because you were… unavailable,” Dean finally sighed. Cas was silent for a second, gaping at Dean.

 

“Dean you fucking idiot I’ve been available this whole time,” Cas told Dean who looked up at him.

 

“Yeah, well you thought I was taken too,” Dean pointed out. Cas sighed, shaking his head.

 

“Yeah, well, we’re both idiots then,” Cas muttered, looking downwards. 

 

“Are we done with the misunderstandings?” Dean questioned after a moment, just a hint of a smile on his face. Cas raised an eyebrow.

 

“I don’t know, are we?”

 

“Well, my name is still Dean and yeah I’ve been going on a ton of dates recently but all those flowers I’ve bought are at my house. Meg was right, I’m an alpha omega mix and I’m very attracted to you,” Dean finished off, a twinkle in his eye. Cas blushed a bit and looked down.

 

“My name is still Castiel, I’m an alpha omega mix, Benny is not my boyfriend, I’m not straight, and I also think that you seem like an exceptional person,” Cas said quietly. His lips quirked into a sweet little grin. “And I’d like to give you some flowers. For free. Just from me. As long as you don’t have too many flowers at home already,” Cas added. Dean shook his head.

 

“Not at all,” he informed Cas who just smiled a little more. “So maybe a date would be nice at this point?” Dean suggested, sounding just the slightest bit timid and ever so hopeful. Cas grinned and nodded. 

 

“I think that sounds very nice.”

\---

When the relationship started, things were almost awkward. With both of them being mixes, it was interesting to see what parts of them came out when and where. They were both possessive, though Dean seemed a little more. Once they were out of Cas’ flower shop they were able to get each other’s smells, Cas’ being something sweet and soft yet with a sharp undertone that hooked Dean in. Dean’s scent was something smooth and solid with comfort underlying it. Cas knew he loved it the second he smelled it.

 

When they went out on dates Dean kept a hand around Cas’ waist. When they kissed Cas kissed Dean like he needed him like air. When they fucked things were tentative at first, and they were both polite and giving. As the months passed by they argued over who topped and who bottomed, who got to knot the other. It was never something angry though, it was always something playful. Some days when Dean had stayed over Cas’ house and Cas had knotted Dean the night before, Cas would sneak up behind him whilst breakfast was on the stove, wrapping firm arms around Dean’s waist.

 

“You’re not off the hook so easy,” he would mutter, nuzzling into Dean’s neck. “I expect a thick knot tonight or those pansies won’t be on your table.” And he would nip at Dean’s ear and walk away like it was nothing.

 

Everything was interesting between them because they somehow fit. Things were messy and weird but it was a sort of messy and weird that they shared because no one else had ever come along in their lives like this. Someone who wasn’t one thing or the other, someone with blurred lines. And when they finally moved in together in Cas’ small little cottage, things fit and didn’t fit, but there was always something they shared, always something the same that made them compatible in the best way possible.

 

They got strange looks and they got weird questions but they didn’t really mind as much as they could have. There was something they had in each other, a comfort they hadn’t know until recently.

 

They mated like everyone else, with a harsh bite to the neck. They fought over who would knot who but in the end it didn’t matter because they had all the time in the world. They tangled together with each other, marked up and smiling about what people would say when they went out grocery shopping the next day with necks as bruised as theirs. The cuddled and nuzzled into each other and they confessed side by side the fact that they thought they would never find someone. Dean’s heart ached at the thought of Cas never finding some. The thought of Cas being alone, the thought of someone as beautiful and kind and caring and selfless as Cas alone. Dean was sure that the world wouldn’t have stood it. And Cas did the same imagining a world where Dean Winchester was alone and covering himself up in one night stands. They curled into one another with interlaced hands, with tangled legs and naked bodies and sighed, whispered endearments into the other’s ears, wondering just exactly how the world was ever so kind and ever so forgiving enough to let them find each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, please please please tell me what you guys thought, I really wasn't fond of this fic but I wanted to post it anyways. It's short and doesn't have much plot but I really am not in the mood for angst so I couldn't really do much other than this. I wanted to write something longer with more plot but I usually get scared and tap out before I write something so this time I just sat down and wrote and this came out. Thank you guys so much for reading, I hope that all of you are doing well!!!


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